November 2017 Conservation Notes

Some Notes on Environmental Concerns and Actions

Banning Hydraulic Fracturing in the State of Florida

Senator Dana Young (R-Tampa) and Representative Kathleen Peters
(R-Treasure Island) have introduced legislation this year (Senate Bill
462; House Bill 237) to ban the gas production practice known as
hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) in the State of Florida.

Senator Young’s bill passed the Senate last year. However, it
failed to pass in the Florida House, despite being co-sponsored by
about a quarter of the Representatives This year anti-fracking
legislation is predicted to have a better chance of passing in the
House and continues to have strong support in the Florida Senate.

The environmental downside of this gas well production technology is
well-researched and publicized. A brief reading of a selection of
the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)* provides enough reason to doubt
the explanations of those legislators who declare this is a safe
technology. The MSDS’s include the safe handling techniques and
environmental and health hazards associated with many of the reported
highly-toxic compounds used in well development and production using
hydraulic fracturing.

*A listing of the MSDS’s for Hydraulic Fracturing Treatment
Additives may be found here (courtesy of the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources): http://www.in.gov/dnr/dnroil/6599.htm

Florida Land and Water Legacy

The lawsuit that seeks to remedy the Florida Legislature’s egregious
ignoring of the will of the voters as expressed in their overwhelming
support at the polls in 2014 for Amendment One (Florida Land and Water
Legacy Amendment) is slowly moving through the courts.
Lawsuits supported by the Florida Wildlife Fund, Earthjustice (the
legal arm of the Sierra Club), Florida Defenders of the Environment,
and St. Johns Riverkeepers, anong others, were filed in Circuit Court
the year after the amendment was passed. The plaintiffs contend
that state has misappropriated funds from the Florida documentary stamp
tax that the voters said should be allocated only to acquire, protect
and preserve conservation land and waters in the State of Florida. The
various lawsuits were merged into one suit early this year and this
lawsuit will be heard in court in July 2018. Despite the outcome next
summer, the case is expected to then move directly to the State Supreme
Court.

Continuing Self-Education

We can become aware of the ecological concerns facing Florida and
act locally on these issues. The concerns include: degradation of
water quality in the IRL; the effects of overdevelopment on the
eco-systems and local Quality of Life; saltwater intrusion into
freshwater sources related to rise in sea-level. However, I think we
should also avail ourselves of the reports concerning non-local but
on-going environmental issues. Some listing for consideration: